Stem Cell-assisted Approaches for Cartilage Tissue Engineering

The regeneration of damaged articular cartilage remains challenging due to its poor intrinsic capacity for repair. Tissue engineering of articular cartilage is believed to overcome the current limitations of surgical treatment by offering functional regeneration in the defect region. Selection of proper cell sources and ECM-based scaffolds, and incorporation of growth factors or mechanical stimuli are of primary importance to successfully produce artificial cartilage for tissue repair. When designing materials for cartilage tissue engineering, biodegradability and biocompatibility are the key factors in selecting material candidates, for either synthetic or natural polymers. The unique environment of cartilage makes it suitable to use a hydrogel with high water content in the cross-linked or thermosensitive (injectable) form. Moreover, design of composite scaffolds from two polymers with complementary physicochemical and biological properties has been explored to provide residing chondrocytes with a combination of the merits that each component contributes.